


The Life and Death Of

by kenobarnes



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 10:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11439279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenobarnes/pseuds/kenobarnes
Summary: "If he didn't have the chance...he'd done enough. It was okay."





	The Life and Death Of

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a couple months back after Rogue One was recently released but I only had the guts to post this now. This was the first fanfic I had ever written and it's basically just a more in-depth way of looking at Bodhi and his last moments. Also, I feel as though he's a terribly underrated character and I wanted to show more appreciation toward him. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated.

The last thing Bodhi Rook saw was a detonator. He heard something hit the wall to his right and his head snapped up from the console to find its source immediately. When his eyes landed on the detonator, his world slowed down to the second. He knew he was going to die. Even if he had enough time to throw his arms up, the blast radius was too close to ensure even the tiniest chance of survival. He knew there was no way he could survive this. He was tempted to recite that damned prayer that Chirrut would never stop reciting as his last desperate act, but he knew that it would be of no use. Bodhi Rook was about to die.

In that split second which seemed to stretch out to eternity, Bodhi looked back on his entire life leading up to this moment. A boy from Jedha who enlisted in the Empire with the hopes of become a starfighter pilot. He left everything he had ever known, including his beloved mother, to pursue those hopes but in the end, he didn’t even end up qualifying for it. Bodhi thought that that was the end of his dreams but it was only two years later when he became a cargo shuttle pilot. It wasn’t what he dreamed of, but he realized he had to start somewhere. 

His memory skipped to meeting Galen Erso, the Imperial scientist, who would turn Bodhi’s entire life around. He remembered being entrusted with a message, being told to seek out a certain Saw Gerrera. He remembered looking for Saw and instead being captured and tortured because they wouldn’t believe his intentions. He remembered the torture. He wished he didn’t, that by the Force’s mercy, he wouldn’t retain a memory of it; but the Force was only so kind. He remembered meeting people. He vaguely remembered faces and voices and the next thing he knew, he was running alongside the said people in attempt to escape the exploding city. He remembered Eadu. He remembered Yavin 4. He remembered agreeing to fight against the very organization he'd been fighting for just a few months earlier. He remembered Scarif. He remembered having to run with a backpack that seemed to weigh a ton across the sandy beach just to be able to get the message to the Rebels. He remembered getting the message through and feeling a sense of pride that he never really felt with the Empire. And that’s when the grenade hit and Bodhi was finally brought back to the present. 

Here he was, against all odds, fighting for the Rebellion and fighting for what everyone thought was a lost cause. Yet, here he was; Bodhi managed to get the message to the Rebels and he knew that they would come through and destroy the Shield Gate and they would get the Death Star plans the others had gone to get and everything will be alright. He also knew that he would never live to see the celebration yet at that moment, Bodhi realized he was okay with it. He had defied the odds of the dangerous mission the Council themselves did not want any part in. He had succeeded in the task Cassian and the others gave to him. But most importantly, Bodhi had done good. He had done the right thing and even though no one will probably remember his name, Bodhi found that it was enough that he had done good.

The second that seemed to stretch to eternity finally ended. Bodhi blinked and time seemed to resume. The detonator which he had been staring at for what felt like forever finally went off and in an instant, Bodhi Rook ceased to exist. 

Before he died, Bodhi’s last conscious thought was how his mother would be proud of him and how excited he was to see her again. He would tell her the story of her brave son who had fought the good fight and done the right thing for the right cause. His life wasn't perfect, and neither was he, but he'd like to believe that his last moments had redeemed him of a life fighting for the wrong side. 

He'd like to believe he would awaken once more, wrapped in his mother's embrace, basking in the peacefulness of the Force. He'd like to believe he had earned that reward.

Bodhi Rook. A man. An Imperial cargo shuttle pilot. A Rebel. A good man.


End file.
